The US Army CECOM Contracting Center - Washington announces Amendment 0003 to Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) W909MY-07-C-0016, sponsored by the U. S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) Army Power Division, valid for Fiscal Years 2008-2010, unless sooner terminated. This amendment is issued to delete and replace Topic 3: Hybrid Intelligent Power (HI-POWER) Management; delete Topic 4: 1KWE, JP-8 OR DF-2 FUELED, EXTERNAL COMBUSTION POWER SOURCE DEMONSTRATOR; and include Topic 5: Thermoelectric devices for power sources in the 50-200 Watt range. The revised Topic 3, Hybrid Intelligent Power Management Topic is as follows: Topic 3: HYBRID INTELLIGENT POWER (HI-POWER) MANAGEMENT CERDEC Army Power Division is responsible for the applied research and development of power generation, energy storage, power electronics and distribution technologies that, when applied as a system, will support Army quality of life, field based operations, combat vehicles, weapons systems, surveillance techniques, and communication platforms. One current area of interest is Intelligent/Adaptive Power Management on the Tactical Battlefield. The Armys Hybrid Intelligent Power (HI-POWER) Management program was instituted to develop a general architecture capable of managing power more efficiently and effectively on the battlefield. To enable the HI- POWER concept of a tactically mobile intelligent, adaptable power management system, additional reliable, high density power processing and power distribution equipment is required. This hardware must enable paralleling of multiple power sources, plug and play connection of sources and loads, and seamless integration of AC and DC systems across a variety of frequencies and voltages. The reactive and thermal management components of these power electronics and distribution systems drive the weight/volume of this new HI-POWER equipment. Highly power dense Power Electronic Converters have been identified as the linchpin to enabling the HI-POWER architecture with tactically mobile power management equipment. The objective of this effort is to support the Armys HI-POWER program through a series of studies and the design, development and proof-of-principle of Advanced Intelligent/Adaptive Power Electronics. The long range objective of these efforts is to enable the Army to prepare a future performance specification that leverages the best available, cost-effective technologies as part of the System Design and Development (SDD) acquisition process for the HI-POWER program. The technical solutions developed under this BAA will be evaluated in the Army HI-POWER test bed and may or may not be considered very specific spin-out (or spiral) insertion opportunities into the current Army power structure if deemed appropriate. The Government expects multiple awards spread over multiple technologies as a result of this topic. It is expected that each award will have a value of upto $ 1,000,000 and a period of performance of between twelve (12) and eighteen (18) months. This topic is focused on advanced research and development in two areas an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of AC or DC-based grids and improved power electronics. The network architecture should be capable of handling up to 500 kW, at 28V and 600V DC and AC at 120/240 V single phase and 120/208 V three phase and 50/60 Hz. 1) Study of AC vs DC Systems: This is primarily an analytical effort that assesses the advantages and disadvantages of AC or DC-based network architectures, in terms of size/weight (to include power generation, energy storage, and power distribution (to include cabling), reliability, redundancy, maintainability, deployability and the impact on voltage, frequency, stability and required protective devices. 2) Development of technologies which would reduce the size, weight, footprint, and noise of power processing equipment (power electronics) essential to the HI-POWER concept while ensuring compatibility with military ruggedization, reliability, maintainability, and environmental requirements. Technical barriers to be addressed include but are not limited to the items listed below. These barriers must be considered together one cannot be resolved at the expense of another. Performance must be improved, costs decreased, and size and weight reduced simultaneously we do not want to sub-optimize the solution in favor or any single variable. (A) Modularity. Approaches to achieve optimal modularity are sought. Products, systems, or approaches developed under this BAA must consider the benefits and implications of modularity as it is seen as a key performance metric in the eventual implementation of HI-POWER. Power / Distribution solutions will need to be modular and readily adaptable to small (battalion), medium (brigade), and large (division) applications. Modular approaches should reduce the proliferation of unique, stand-alone applications or end-items. (B) Cost. Materials, processing, and fabrication technologies for power electronics and electric machinery are currently too costly. (C) Volume and thermal management. Todays power electronics are bulky and not packaged for tactical applications. Current thermal management techniques are inadequate to dissipate heat in high-power density systems. Cost effective means of thermal management and heat transfer are sought. (D) Weight. Current power electronics controllers/converters are too heavy and require additional structural weight for support thereby reducing mobility. (E) Reliability and ruggedness. Power electronics modules that meet the requirements for size and weight are not rugged or reliable enough to operate in harsh tactical environments (e.g., extreme temperatures, humidity, sand/dirt). Also, the operating and shelf life of energy storage (or buss) capacitors is only 5 years under moderate conditions. Topic 5: Thermoelectric devices for power sources in the 50-200 Watt range is included in the BAA as follows: Topic 5: Thermoelectric devices for power sources in the 50-200 Watt range. The Army seeks to develop a thermoelectric power generation technology demonstrators using novel materials for battery, battery charging, co power generation and waste heat recovery applications. The thermoelectric demonstrators should be the basic component of a larger power source in the 50-200Watt range that can produce at least 12 Volts and can run on propane, butane, JP-8 or Diesel fuel. Various designs (e.g. segmentation and multiple stages) and novel materials should be investigated to achieve the most efficient design (at least 10% at the device level) for heat energy conversion to electrical. Best design and materials should be determined, from which the device can be built. It should be shown that the technology can lead to power densities of at least 20W/kg at the system level and can easily be combined together to develop the larger power source. At a minimum electrical and life tests should be completed on the device. All proposals should include delivery of a minmum of two technology demonstrators for Government evaluation. The Government expects multiple awards spread over multiple technologies as a result of this topic. It is expected that each award will have a value of up to $1,000,000 and a period of performance of between twelve (12) and eighteen (18) months. POC: Christopher Howells, 703-704-0234, christopher.howells@us.army.mil Topics 1 and 2 of the basic BAA remain unchanged as a result of this amendment. The complete BAA is available at the C-E LCMC Interactive Business Opportunities Page (IBOP), https://abop.monmouth.army.mil/. It is necessary for all potential offerors to access the IBOP to read the complete BAA, submission procedures, evaluation criteria and to submit whitepapers and proposals. In order to access the BAA and submit a proposal a contractor must first be registered on the IBOP. A CAGE Code and DUNS number are required to complete registration for proposal submissions. A contractor employee who is authorized to bind the contractor must complete the registration. The process could take several days to finalize the registration and contractors are encouraged to register as soon as possible. This BAA is issued under provisions of paragraph 6.102(d)(2) and paragraph 35.016 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) which provides for competitive selection of research and development proposals submitted in response to this announcement. Accordingly, proposals selected for award are considered to be the result of full and open competition and fully compliant with PL 98- 369, The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984. Prospective offerors should note that this BAA is an expression of interest only and does not commit the Government to make an award or pay proposal preparation costs generated in response to this announcement. The cost of proposal preparation for response to a BAA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resultant contract or any other contract. However, it may be an allowable expense to the normal bid and proposal indirect cost specified in FAR 31.205- 18. No contract award will be made unless appropriated funds are available for payment for the effort being acquired. Potential offerors are reminded that only a duly warranted contracting officer may obligate the government to an agreement involving the expenditure of Government funds. Any resultant contract award would include all clauses required by Federal Acquisition Regulations and appropriate supplements. This BAA is intended for the development of research efforts in support of the RDEC Army Power Division. Specific information on program goals is provided in the following section, Program Description. In order for any proposals to be considered, the proposed effort MUST meet the definition of basic or applied research and development found at FAR 35.001. This BAA is being evaluated using a two step process. Prospective offerors will first submit a white paper for evaluation. The purpose of the white paper is to preclude unwarranted effort and expense by potential offerors in preparing a full technical and cost proposal for efforts not considered responsive or for efforts deemed to have a low overall probability of obtaining support. Submission of White Papers is mandatory prior to submission of a full proposal. The selection of one or more proposals for award will be based on a peer and scientific evaluation of each offerors response (to include both technical and cost aspects) to determine the overall merit of the proposal in response to this announcement. White Papers/Proposals shall be submitted in electronic format via the IBOP. The IBOP submittal shall include an electronic signature by an individual having authority to enter into a contract. There will be no formal request for proposal or any further solicitation document issued in regard to this BAA. Therefore, interested parties should be alert for any amendments that may be published. Amendments to this BAA will be issued through the IBOP at https://abop.monmouth.army.mil. It is therefore recommended that Offerors join the specific mailing list under BAA W909MY-07-R-0016. Once registered on the solicitation specific mailing list a vendor will receive email notification of any updates relating to the BAA. Offerors may submit questions related to this BAA electronically using the Question format available in the Army IBOP BAA Power Technology solicitation folder. Questions of a technical nature may be address to the project lead, specified below, until such time as a white paper has been submitted. All questions of a contractual nature and all questions after white paper submission must be directed to the Contracting Office Point of Contacts specified at the IBOP. ALL POTENTIAL OFFERORS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT DUE TO UNANTICIPATED BUDGET FLUCTUATIONS, FUNDING IN ANY OR ALL AREAS CAN CHANGE WITH LITTLE OR NO NOTICE. The C-E LCMC Acquisition Center Washington points of contact are Mr. Sabin Joseph, Contract Specialist, telephone number 703-325-6805, email: sabin.joseph@us.army.mil and Ms. Patricia Davis, Contracting Officer, telephone number 703-325-1713, email: pat.davis@us.army.mil.